Once school is out for the summer, we get the travel bug! We are lucky enough to be a short drive away from Chicago and a handful of cute, little beach towns, which make for perfect weekend getaways.

1. Start with a plan. Before I pack, I do loads and loads of laundry. We have a rule: don’t wear it this week if you want to take it on vacation! I check the weather, and lay out appropriate outfits for each of the girls, as well as an extra set of clothes (you know how kids are!).

2. Plastic baggies are your best friend. I slide each outfit into a bag, and label it by child and by day. When it’s time to get dressed, they can just pull out their bag. This also saves on space inside your suitcase, since you can really fit a lot into those ZipLock bags, and squeeze them down. Packing cubes are another great option if you have bigger kids, or are packing for yourself! (the ones I’m using here are sold out, but I just bought this set on Amazon and the price cannot be beat!)

5. Toy organization. I am a happier person when everything has a place. Since I always anticipate a rainy day, or a slow morning, it never hurts to pack some activities and inside toys. Small, wire baskets are the perfect portable toy box! Target currently has these in the Dollar Spot! They also work great in the car, to hold travel games and snacks! I always hit the Dollar Spot (are you sensing a trend??), and stock up on the little art sets, pens, notebooks, and little toys. How cute is that felt busy book?

6. Breathe! Traveling with kids is always stressful. But once you get to your destination, you can breathe easily, relax, and make some memories!! It’s a lot of hustle for a vacation, when you have little ones in tow, but it’s always SO worth it!

And if you’re us, step 7 would be: pick the perfect song for the family music video 😉 Happy travels!!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I told Dave I wanted two things for my birthday; 1. a picture of me with the girls (since I always take the pictures, and am hardly ever in them), and a weekend getaway with the girls. Dave is in the business of making dreams come true, and delivered on both (you can see my birthday photo here)!

Dave gave me a 3 hour radius to choose from, and after some deliberation, we picked our destination. I started packing yesterday. Since it is just a weekend (2 overnights), I wanted to pack light – we will also be toting a pack n play and a double stroller – so we are talking one suitcase light. I’m the first to admit I’m not the most organized person, but when it comes to traveling, I am such a neat freak. I even wrap my shoes in tissue paper and stuff them into their dust bags. Fortunately, our destination is more “sandals and casual clothes” than “Valentinos and dresses that belong in garment bags”. But, still, the thought of finding an organized way to fit three girls’ clothes in with my stuff AND Dave’s was pretty daunting.

When EzPacking reached out to me to try some of their organizing cubes, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. They sent me the Starter Set, which includes a large cube, a medium cube, a small cube, and one extra-small cube. This set is specially designed to fit into a carry-on sized luggage bag. Challenge accepted.

Spoiler alert: even for a two day trip, I do not pack lightly. With an infant and a toddler, extra sets of clothes were necessary.

At first, It didn’t look like anything was going to fit into the cubes, and I thought I was in over my head. However, these cubes do expand a bit, and I was shocked as I began to fold things and fit them into the cubes! And the cubes zipped without me pulling a muscle or sitting on them (not like I’ve been in that scenario… ok ok, it was one time in Naples, and I was hellbent on fitting the giant, mostly-deflated dolphin pool float that Peyton was obsessed with into my carry on bag – I totally did it, by the way). I used the large cube for the girls’ goodies, while mine fit easily into the medium cube. Swimsuits for the 5 of us fit comfortably into the small cube. I used the extra-small cube for underpants (I hope you read that like Corey Matthews), although it is designed to hold small toiletries (let’s be honest, I have too many toiletries, because I have three kids and I don’t wake up like this – it takes a whole dopp kit), and Dave’s clothes neatly lined the bottom of the suitcase. Once filled, the EzPacking Cubes fit nicely into the suitcase like puzzle pieces. And you know what guys, the suitcase zipped! I may or may not have done a small celebratory dance.

I’m not only excited about the ability to make packing more organized, but the usability when we are in the hotel. Oh, it’s time to head to the pool, let me just pull out our swimsuit cube – instead of unfolding and emptying the entire suitcase just to locate a stray pair of bikini bottoms. And when it’s time to go home, we’ll be able to put everything back into their respective cubes, and head home – and not have to struggle with the WHY WON’T THIS ALL FIT OMG IT FIT ON THE WAY DOWN AND CHECKOUT IS IN 10 MINUTES game that we usually play when traveling with the girls. Because nobody really ever wins that game.

EzPacking is currently offering 10% off to my readers with code: Jenna. I’ll be investing in a few more cubes, since they are a complete game-changer. And because Dave deserves his own cube 😉

Because now that we’ve nailed down the packing and organization game, the only game we’ll likely be playing on this vacation is a round of everybody’s favorite car ride game: Who Can Scream The Loudest – insert an eye roll emoji here.

This post was sponsored by EzPacking, and product was gifted. I would never share a brand or product that we didn’t actually use and love! Thank you for supporting the brands that make heyitsjenna.com possible!